Unpaid Invoice Small Claims Northern Ireland

When an Invoice Becomes a Court Matter

Most unpaid invoices get resolved with a phone call or a chaser email. When they do not — when the debtor goes quiet, disputes the work without basis, or keeps promising payment that never arrives — the Northern Ireland Small Claims Court is the standard route for invoices up to £5,000.

Unpaid invoices are liquidated claims: you are claiming a specific, provable sum. This makes them the most straightforward type of small claim to file.

Interest You Can Add to the Claim

For business-to-business debts (sole trader to company, company to company), the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 gives you two things on top of the original invoice:

Statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate, running from the date the invoice became overdue. You calculate this as a daily rate and multiply by the number of days since the due date.

Fixed recovery compensation: £40 for debts up to £999.99, £70 for debts between £1,000 and £9,999.99. This covers your administrative costs in chasing the debt.

Where a valid written contract specifies an agreed interest rate, you can claim that contractual interest.

Detail the interest calculation on your application form — the judge will check the arithmetic.

The Demand Letter

Before filing, send a formal Letter Before Claim. For an unpaid invoice, this should include:

• The original invoice (or a copy), with the invoice number and date
• The contract, purchase order, or email exchange confirming the work was agreed
• A breakdown of the principal debt plus calculated interest
• A clear deadline of 14 to 21 days for payment
• A statement that court proceedings will follow without further notice if the deadline passes

If the debtor is a sole trader, address the letter to the individual by name. If they are a limited company, send it to the registered office address.

Naming the Right Entity

Getting the respondent's name wrong on the application is the most common avoidable error in unpaid invoice claims.

• Sole trader: "Jane Doe trading as Doe Design Studio" — you need the individual's name, not just the trading name, and their residential address for service
• Partnership: Name the individual partners or the partnership's trading name
• Limited company: The exact registered name from Companies House and the registered office address — not the office you visited or the website's contact page

A decree against "Doe Design Studio" alone is unenforceable if the business is a sole trader. And a decree against the wrong limited company name (e.g. missing "Ltd") creates complications.

Filing Your Claim

File through the Civil Processing Centre online or by post. On the application, include:

• The principal invoice amount
• Calculated interest (with the daily rate and number of days shown)
• Fixed recovery compensation if applicable
• The court filing fee (£49 to £244 depending on the total)

The statement of facts should be brief: when the work was done, when the invoice was issued, when it became overdue, what you have done to chase it, and that the demand letter went unanswered.

What Usually Happens

Many invoice disputes end without a hearing. The respondent receives the Small Claims Pack from the CPC and pays — the formality of court papers concentrates minds. If they do not respond within 21 days, you apply for a default decree.

If the respondent disputes the claim using Form 126A, the case goes to a hearing. Common defences include claiming the work was not done, was defective, or was never agreed. Your invoice, contract, and correspondence are the evidence that counters this.

If the respondent accepts they owe the money but cannot pay at once, they file Form 126B proposing a payment plan.

Collecting After the Decree

A decree orders payment but does not deliver the cash. If the debtor still does not pay, you serve a Notice of Intent to Enforce (£31), wait 10 days, then apply to the Enforcement of Judgments Office for formal enforcement — attachment of earnings, seizure of goods, or an order charging property.

For a full walkthrough — interest calculation worksheets, demand letter templates, and the filing process — the Northern Ireland Small Claims Filing Guide covers invoice recovery step by step.

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